Book Review - Charlaine Harris' Dead and Gone

Dead and Gone (Sookie Stackhouse Book 9) by Charlaine Harris
Published by: Ace Trade
Publication Date: May 5th, 2009
Format: Paperback, 320 Pages
Challenge: Fantasy
Rating: ★★★★
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Sookie has lived through the were wars and the hostile take over of her state by the Nevada vamps... but can she still keep the status quo when the weres finally come out and an all out fairy war looms on the horizon, seeing to make the previous battles look like a game. Would have been nice if she'd known in advance all the heaps of trouble having a fairy lord as a relative could bring down on her. But issues with her immediate friends and family make the fairies a secondary concern. Sam has left the bar under Sookie's supervision because his mom got shot by his stepfather when she revealed herself as a shifter. Plus, they're down a  waitress when Arelene quites because she can't work for a shifter, bigot that she now is. Sookie inadvertently ends up "married" to Eric. Also Jason's two timing ex wife ends up crucified in the Merlotte's parking lot. Which could end up as Sookie's fate if certain people have their way, or if the fairies don't get her first. But everything in the world becomes insignificant when she's kidnapped by two sadistic fairies and just staying alive from one moment to the next is all that she can focus on. The question becomes, how many of them will make it out alive?

With more death than in previous installments, we do get quite of few questions answered as well as a tying up of the fairies, which seemed to be just thrown in because a) supernatural beings and why don't we add another supernatural species and b) this could be a handy way to explain away Sookie's powers. Also, the deaths and crimes have reached a new level of gore. While Sookie has always been hurt and in danger, I don't think she's ever been hurt to the extent she was in this book and I will be interested to see how this affects her sunny disposition and outlook on the world. Plus, while she is now "married" to Eric, why wasn't he there to help her when she needed him most? He would of course have felt her pain and terror! While main plots were resolved and longtime mysteries wrapped up, in particular Sookie's parents, I always knew there had to be something more, there are many questions still left. Ah Charlaine, you keep us coming back for more, I just wish you could write faster! Also, I don't think I want to ever be a pregnant lady in Charlaine's world, Tara, keep a look out!